Yoga

Edan wrote: I have a yoga question... perhaps someone here can answer it...

Whenever I take classes the teacher always makes us hold the poses for ages, but when I do videos or see others do it on youtube etc, everything is a lot more fluid and less stiff. Which is right? Or are both right?

My girlfriend does yoga a lot. From what I've heard her talk about there are different types of yoga. Some are more about staying the same pose for a long time and some are about moving from one to the other more like Thai Chi. They seem to have different end goals but can both be part of yoga training and teaching. (meaning that they are not conflicting or contradictory)

have said a lot of things about yoga -

how many people have been worked more than steps of postures ,respiration,and mantra maybe...?

Basically yoga have many steps...so when the theme is more deep than body postures...is complex,because not all are ready to learn a vision spiritually different that our education -

health benefits of yoga are visible in body,but not all want to learn deeply the spirit of the yoga

I think spiritual benefits are very important,if we can see yoga in this way, (more than body exercises for outer and inner balance

Mi idea of yoga is based in Vama Marga concepts.Have some philosophy ...

so...to said more clearly,body postures is not the most important when comes in obsesion...I opine that,in line to psicomagical modern systems,each one can to feel nice in personal postures

The point is that a mid point when the relax and conscience of body have a balance (firm but relaxed, as Patanjali says)

Edan wrote: I have a yoga question... perhaps someone here can answer it...

Whenever I take classes the teacher always makes us hold the poses for ages, but when I do videos or see others do it on youtube etc, everything is a lot more fluid and less stiff. Which is right? Or are both right?

30 seconds is a good rule of thumb. In classes, the instructor probably goes around to each student to make sure all of them get the correct pose and so it takes longer. Not a good teaching practice...

I originally became interested in the practice of yoga after reading one of Michael W. Fords grimoires. He speaks briefly on Asana yoga, whereas the practitioner practices keeping the body perfectly still for extended periods of time while visualizing an object, making sure to count each distraction during the process. I have been practicing this on average five days a week for seven years...

There is also the fact that different styles of yoga place more emphasis on certain things.

Edan wrote: I have a yoga question... perhaps someone here can answer it...

Whenever I take classes the teacher always makes us hold the poses for ages, but when I do videos or see others do it on youtube etc, everything is a lot more fluid and less stiff. Which is right? Or are both right?

I think some of those hold's where associated with contemplative spiritual work, such as visualizing energy channels, deities, oneself as a deity, or constructs such as mandala's to develop the mental capacity for holding complex visualizations. When mixed with deeper non-conceptual meditation the poses might best suit certain natures of experience, where one feels safest anchored in conceptual space.

Contemporary Yoga might have taken a lot of the poses and used them for flexibility and exercise uses, where a hold might relieve the tension more effectively then a moment in movement into and out of a stretched position. That's my thoughts on it.

The coolest thing I ever learned about Yoga was that it isn't just an exercise. It is a complete spiritual discipline. With principles, breathing meditations, spiritual rituals, and yes, training the body.

It made me wonder... What if other spiritual disciplines had a "workout"? Just a cool thought.

Connor L. wrote: The coolest thing I ever learned about Yoga was that it isn't just an exercise. It is a complete spiritual discipline. With principles, breathing meditations, spiritual rituals, and yes, training the body.

It made me wonder... What if other spiritual disciplines had a "workout"? Just a cool thought.

The first jedi training I ever did actually did have a workout....the physical aspect was emphasized as an important part of the training...the philosophical part came later...there was a rope obstacle course as well as another obstacle course, plus saber sparring...

Awesome!